The present invention relates to a system for detecting and displaying information received from a pulse-echo (radar) system.
In conventional pulse-echo object detection systems, a pulse of energy, generally consisting of a number of cycles of sine wave carrier frequency, is radiated into a medium from a source. If there is a target object in the path of the pulse, it will cause some of the pulse energy to be reflected back toward the source, and the distance from the source to the target, i.e., target range, can be determined by measuring the pulse transit time to the target and return. A number of factors including the terrain around the energy source and target object, the weather, and spurious signals generated within or coupled into the pulse-echo return system may introduce extraneous information into the receiver output. Pulse-echo object detection systems in the past were for the most part concerned with detecting targets and not with detecting and displaying this extraneous information. Thus, the major emphasis in detection and signal processing has been to remove all extraneous signals and to provide detection mechanisms for targets. However, another useful endeavor could be to provide an instrumentality for describing the environmental conditions surrounding and underlying the detection regions. Such an environmental map could supply badly needed information for improved operation of the tracking system and, because a better picture of the prevailing situation would be available, the operation of the pulse-echo object detection system could be modified accordingly.